Nut-lock



moModgl) A L B SOHOFIELD.

NUT LUCK. No.'451,174. Patented Apr. 28, 1891.

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ALBERT B. SOI-IOFIELD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES C. BEACH, OF BLOOMFIEIJD, NEV JERSEY.

NUT-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 451,174, dated April 28, 1891. i Application led .T anuary 7, 1889. Serial lil'o.v 295,641. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:-

Be it lrnown that I, ALBERT B. SCHOFIELD, of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Nut- Locks, of which the following is a specification.

Myimprovementrelates to a lock for securing a nut against rotation which will unscrew 1o the nut from the bolt to which it is attached.

I will describe a nut-lock embodying my improvement in detail, and then point out. the novel features in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a nut-lool; embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same, taken on the line .fr zr, Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference designate `corresponding parts in all th'e figures.

2o A A designate two rails, the ends of which abut or approximately abut in the usual manner.

B B designate fish-plates arranged one upon each side of the two rails A A and adapted,

when clamped together, to secure saidrails against displacement.

C designates bolts. These bolts extend through suitable apertures in the fish-plates B B and the webs of the rails. Nuts D ap- 3o plied to the bolts C secure the latter in position.

In carrying out my improvement I form projections a upon the outer side of the fishplate B. These projections may be rolled up from the metal of the fish-plate and milled out so as to form recesses b between the outer portions of the projections and the face of the fish-plate. These milled portions constitute cavities, which cavities taper from their 4o upper to their lower ends toward the boltholes.

J designates locking devices. As shown, these locking devices have a straight face c and a wedge-shaped or inclined face d. Then the locking-pieces are dropped into the cavities b, the wedge-shaped faces d of the locking-pieces will of course contact with the wedge-shaped rear wall of said recess and the locking-pieces will be forced outwardly,

5o so that their straight faces c will have a parallel motion toward the boltholes. The straight faces of the locking-pieces when thus forced sidewise will extend into the path of the nuts D when the latter are rotated. In other words, the corners of the nuts will always contact with the straight faces of the locking-pieces when the nuts are rotated in a direction to unscrew them from the bolts.

In Fig. l I have illustrated the lockingpieoes and thenuts in four different positions. 6o In the first position, or that at the left of Fig.

l, one of the faces of the nut is substantially parallel withthe straight face c of the locking-piece. In the next instance the lockingpiece is somewhat raised and one of the corners of the nut contacts with the lockingpiece. In the third example thelocking-piece is still further raised; but one of the corners of the nut still engages the locking-piece.. In the fourth position, which I may remark 7c is the most disadvantageous which the nut and locking-piece can'occupy relatively to each other, the locking-piece is so far raised that the corner of the nut only contacts with it near the lower end of the locking-piece. Assuming, however, that the nut may now slip past the locking-piece, the latter will, by gravity, be immediately returned to the position shownin the example to theleft of Fig.

l, and will therefore again act as a positive 8o lock against the further rotation of the nut.

It is to be borne in mind, therefore, that the locking-piece J always operates by gravity7 and that even if the same should not be properly inserted in the first instance the nut can rotate but a very short distance before the locking-piece will again operate to effectively prevent further rotation.

I prefer that the face of the locking-piece with which the nut contacts shall be serrated 9o in order that the corners of the nut may obtain a firm grip upon the locking-piece; but this, however, I do not deem wholly essential.

Vhat I` claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with the bar or plate B, having upon it a projection within or on which is a bearing presenting a downward inclination toward a bolt-hole in said plate, of a locking-piece applied against the said roo bearing, between it and the bolt-hole, and having a straight face C, and a Surface contacting with said bearing corresponding in inclination to the inclination of said bearing, said looking-piece being* free to lnove against said projection by the force of gravity, and thereby be caused to move toward a nut on a bolt in said bolt-hole With the straight faee c in vertical parallel lines, substantially as 1o herein described.

The combination, with the plate B, having` in it a bolt-hole and having;` upon it the projection a, Within which is the inclined bearing b, of the gravitating` tapering lockingpieee having a straight notched or serrated edge c, substantially as herein described.

ALBERT B. SCHOFIELD.

Witnesses:

HENRY T. WRIGHT, A. C. PAUL. 

